Parts.com Begins Charging for TradeMotion
Storefront
Nearly 2,700 Dealers Signed Up for Free Solution
26 New Dealers Agree to Fee Structure on First Day
SANFORD, Fla., March 20 Parts.com, Inc.
(OTC Bulletin Board: MIRM), a marketplace and software solutions provider for
the parts industry, announced an end to its highly successful free TradeMotion
Storefront promotion and began billing dealerships for the software solution.
Parts.com signed up nearly 2,700 dealers during its 90-day marketing
campaign, which offered TradeMotion Storefront for free for the first year.
Parts.com has begun charging dealerships for the software solution and 26 new
dealers have agreed to the fee structure on the very first day. Parts.com
also announced the new pricing structure for its Platinum and Gold supplier
annual territory fees.
"On December 8, 2000, we launched our free TradeMotion Storefront offer in
order to build our distribution network and prove to the industry that our
software solutions bring value to dealerships," stated Shawn Lucas, President
and CEO. "After ninety days, we've grown our dealership network to nearly
2,700 with monthly average sales of more than $800 per dealership. Several
dealerships have grossed $12,000 in sales in just a few weeks, with little or
no promotion on their part. Dealers see the value in our software solution
and we now have quantifiable numbers to support a monthly and/or annual fee,"
concluded Mr. Lucas.
TradeMotion Storefront is Parts.com's private-label solution for
electronic parts sales and procurement. With Storefront, dealers can increase
their online parts sales without having to invest in catalogs, part locator
software or Web design services. TradeMotion Storefront is seamlessly
integrated into a dealer's Web site, allowing their customers to search for
parts, receive quotes on parts and order parts online, in real time. And,
unlike many other e-business solutions, Storefront protects the dealerships'
brand. Customers see only the dealership's name when ordering the part and
the dealership receives 100% of the revenue. There are no transaction fees
with TradeMotion Storefront.
TradeMotion Storefront allows dealerships to maintain their existing
discount structures. The software allows dealers to set up wholesale accounts
with specific pricing and payment terms for each customer, while
simultaneously operating a retail Storefront with different pricing and
payment terms. All Storefront orders are directed into the dealership's
TradeMotion OCTANE system for processing and tracking. By managing all online
customer purchases in a single order management system, dealers are able to
further streamline their business processes and reduce costs.
TradeMotion is an open platform solution aimed at providing the dealership
one simple management system, which allows any third party such as, insurance
companies, fleet companies, dot com's, and traditional brick-and-mortar
facilities to communicate and push orders through Parts.com's TradeMotion
Platform. This allows dealers to collect orders through a system, which is
affordable, and feature-rich. Customer Roger Merrick stated, "I am very
impressed with the detail and functionality, particularly the ease of use of
the software. It's very user-friendly and works extremely well."
Parts.com is offering TradeMotion Storefront in two price formats --
billing monthly or annually. The monthly fee is $69.95 with a $49.95 set-up
charge plus $19.95 for each additional manufacturing line, per year. The
annual fee is $595.00, with a $49.95 set-up charge and $19.95 for each
additional manufacturing line, per year. Once this service is active, dealers
have an option to add-on Parts.com's TradeMotion Direct2DMS.
While Parts.com has extended its current Platinum and Gold supplier
contracts through December 2001, it has also lowered its annual territory fees
for those new dealers who wish to participate as suppliers in the Parts.com
marketplace. The new Platinum supplier annual territory fees range from $500
to $2,500 a year, while Gold supplier annual territory fees range from $200 to
$1000 a year depending upon the manufacturer.
"We have received a renewed interest in our Marketplace Territory Fees
because of the substantial growth in our marketplace orders. In January of
2001, the marketplace orders increased 493% over January 2000, while February
2001 orders were 787% higher than February 2000. March 2001 figures to
continue this trend. As our distribution continues to grow and more work
shops, dealers, fleet and insurance companies utilize our marketplace and
dealership storefronts to procure and locate parts, we believe the orders will
continue to grow, and bring more value to those dealers who participate in our
marketplace and utilize our software solutions," concluded Mr. Lucas.
About Parts.com
Parts.com, based in Sanford, Florida, is a business-to-business electronic
commerce software and parts procurement platform provider. The Company's
e-procurement solutions enable corporations to use electronic automation to
streamline business transactions and reduce costs. In addition to automating
existing relationships between buyers and sellers, Parts.com also provides a
marketplace where buyers and sellers can conduct transactions electronically.
This announcement contains "forward-looking statements." Words
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," and other similar expressions
as they relate to the Company and its management are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. Although the Company and its management believe
that the statements contained in this announcement are reasonable, it can give
no assurances that such statements will prove correct. Factors that could
affect the occurrence of events or results discussed herein are included with
those mentioned in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
